Why Fox News' Harris Faulkner Apologized To Viewers And Trump For This On-Air Mistake
A bad morning can happen to anyone, but for most of us, needing more coffee usually just results in shooting an email to the wrong person or not getting the kids off to school on time. Unfortunately for Fox News host Harris Faulkner, her brain fog on March 22, 2021 led her to falsely report information while on-air with former president Donald Trump, causing him to retract a comment about a supposed "victory" for his administration. "Forgive me, that has not happened," she said. Trump was at least gracious about it, saying it was all right and adding that he would "cross that victory off the list."
And everyone knows how much Trump loves to lose, right? It was a very bizarre on-air moment and it's unclear how it actually happened, though she has been called out on social media for not just reporting false news, but also allowing Trump to falsely criticize the Biden administration's policies on the border and declare that he had, in fact, won the election, without any pushback on her end. "Faulkner is often presented as one of the 'real journalists' at Fox News. This is yet another example of how the overall approach of the channel is based on lies and misinformation. There is no 'news' side," one person tweeted. Here's what went down.
Harris Faulkner had to walk back a false report
During an interview with Donald Trump on Fox News, Harris Faulkner interrupted the former president's rant about border policies under the Biden administration to say that the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, had resigned. She dramatically took off her glasses, Walter Cronkite-style, to inform Trump of the "news." In response, Trump said that his resignation was a victory for the country, having called for his resignation just the night before. Moments later, Faulkner paused and gravely listened to her headpiece as she told the former president that she had to "listen to her team."
"Hold on, let me stop, let me stop, let me listen to my team one more time. Forgive me, that has not happened. And I apologize," she said. The interview continued without another hitch.
It's unclear why she would have reported that Mayorkas had resigned, although he has come under criticism by both parties for the current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border involving a surge of unaccompanied minors who are staying in prison-like facilities, with no real timeline as to when the situation will be resolved. Trump had called for Mayorkas resignation because of his handling of the situation, which is somewhat ironic given that the crisis at the border intensified during Trump's presidency.
Alejandro Mayorkas says he is starting from scratch
Although Donald Trump blames President Joe Biden and the Department of Homeland Security's Alejandro Mayorkas for what he calls a "disaster" at the border, the head of the DHS insists that it's not what it looks like. Mayorkas told CNN in March that the borders were closed and that they were expelling families and single adults, but remained focused on the surge of unaccompanied children. His team is currently working to remedy the situation — mostly the dire conditions in which the children are living. He told Dana Bash, via CNN, just days before Harris Faulkner falsely reported that he had resigned that his department was diligently working on handling the crisis. And that it was not entirely his fault.
"I have said repeatedly from the very outset that a Border Patrol station is no place for a child and that is why we are working around the clock to move those children out of the Border Patrol facilities, into the care and custody of the Department of Health and Human Services that shelters them," he said. Mayorkas added that Trump had "dismantled" the entire immigration system, and that his department was rebuilding it "from scratch."
It's a good thing he did not resign then, because no matter whose fault it is, the DHS has a ton of work to do.